Glimpses of Glory

Today is the Feast Day of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. In the original event Jesus was revealed for who he truly is, and for a second time in his life a voice came from heaven saying, "this is my Son, the Beloved." The event was so shocking that the disciples Peter, James and John could not even speak of it immediately thereafter. I think that is when they really knew that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like all sudden realizations, it took a while to sink in.

It all started, I think, with Jesus' attempt to explain to his disciples that he was going to die. His "time had come" as Jesus would say. The Gospels would have us understand that the disciples did not always get the gist of what Jesus was saying, and sometimes they had to be shown in no uncertain way. Jesus had an "inner circle" in Peter and the two sons of Zebedee the fisherman. They seemed to be at Jesus' elbow every time he turned around, so it is natural that they would accompany Jesus to the holy mountain.

Luke's account of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:28-36) tells us that when Jesus was revealed he was speaking with Moses and Elijah about his "departure" or in the Greek text, his "exodus" which would soon take place at Jerusalem. It is no wonder that years later St. Peter would write,

"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain." (2 Peter 16-18)

Only Jesus gets transfigured, but in God's grace we can know that we are also God's beloved. If we have that realization we too will get a glimpse of God's glory.


In peace,

Linda +

The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
http://www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org/
http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com/